Hospital 444
Chapter 132 - 9 Windows

Chapter 132: Chapter 9 Windows

Jin Yun Lan seemed still engrossed in "The Red and the Black" she was holding; it took her about two or three seconds to register before she looked at Jin Yunran.

"What did you just say?"

"Nothing... it was nothing," Jin Yunran did not continue, clearly another scam call; her sister could not possibly know the scammer’s name.

However, she was somewhat surprised; she remembered when she first read "The Red and the Black," she found it so dull that she became drowsy. Yet, her sister could read it with relish and intense focus. Eventually, she listened to an online audio explanation as a "cloud reader" to get through the whole book, perplexed that it was merely a tale of a male homewrecker, and thus lost all interest. The Western literature she had read were limited to "Gone with the Wind," "Pride and Prejudice," and the likes of "Jane Eyre."

"Sister, is that book really so interesting?"

Upon hearing her sister’s remark, Jin Yun Lan said, "This book was one of your brother-in-law’s favorite Western literary works. Initially, I too found it tedious, but since he liked it so much, I wanted to understand what it was about the book he fancied, so I kept reading it."

"I saw online that the protagonist falls in love with a married woman, and it seems the book glorifies this affair throughout, which made me lose interest," she said.

Jin Yun Lan stared at her sister for several seconds before replying, "It’s better to read such a book for yourself. Online explanations often take things out of context."

Jin Yunran looked at the thick book and the bookmark her sister had placed beside it.

In an era dominated by short videos and when online literature has become mainstream, her sister’s ability to sit down and read world classics was indeed rare. If it were her, she could hardly imagine spending an afternoon with such a book instead of scrolling through her phone.

Perhaps the shared interests in this regard resulted in her brother-in-law and her sister finding common ground and eventually becoming husband and wife?

Her sister once mentioned that though her brother-in-law was an online literature creator, he preferred reading physical books and would never resort to pirated sites. All the books he read, he would buy in their original hardcopy editions and place them on his bookshelf.

"Then, Sister... how about you recommend a book your husband liked to read? I’ll read it to pass the time."

On hearing Jin Yunran’s suggestion, Jin Yun Lan almost instinctively said, "Then... ’Wuthering Heights’ it is, which was written by Emily Bronte, the sister of Charlotte Bronte, who authored your favorite ’Jane Eyre’."

"Sister, you actually remember such long foreign names... I barely remember even the female protagonist’s name from ’Jane Eyre’."

Jin Yunran remembered having seen the book in her brother-in-law’s study.

And so, she went up to the second floor.

Her brother-in-law’s study...

When she stepped into it again, she felt as if the light had dimmed significantly.

She closely examined the desk and the content of the "fabricated diary": "The brother-in-law" had turned around and seen something terrible, but upon waking the next day, he had forgotten it as if it were a disconnected piece.

She avoided the desk and walked over to the bookcase, opening it.

A quick scan revealed that most of the Western classics were placed in the first and second compartments on the left, mostly in earlier translated editions.

Before long, she found "Wuthering Heights" and pulled it off the shelf.

After removing the book, she assessed its thickness.

Not too thick... but she felt she probably wouldn’t get much into this type of novel.

Why did she insist on finding a book her brother-in-law liked instead of simply scrolling through videos on her phone?

Jin Yunran found she couldn’t explain it herself.

She opened the book.

It was clear her brother-in-law indeed cherished this book; its pages had begun to yellow and many were wrinkled.

Jin Yunran sat at her brother-in-law’s desk, where he used to sit, and under the light from the window outside, she opened the book.

The story began in the first person.

Though the plot unfolded without turbulence, Jin Yunran purposefully avoided looking at the story synopsis.

As she read on, she suddenly turned her head back impulsively.

That night, her brother-in-law too had been sitting here...

Regardless, one indisputable fact remained.

Her brother-in-law had indeed seemed to have been frightened to death.

Jin Yunran looked behind her; the door to the study was ajar, and outside... there was no sign of anything unusual.

"The thing I saw during the day, it must have been an illusion, right?"

Jin Yunran was never particularly sensitive, but she realized something inside her was increasingly affected by the diary.

Turning her head back, she refocused her eyes on the book before her.

The storyline was quite monotonous, and after only a few pages, she was struggling to concentrate.

The plot was about a tenant arriving in the English countryside and staying at Wuthering Heights.

Foreign names are so long and hard to remember. Just a few Chapters in, and there’s already the landlord of Wuthering Heights and a bunch of characters introduced. After reading for quite a while, I still don’t know what kind of story it’s supposed to tell.

Originally, I felt much better after waking up from a nap, but now, I’m feeling a bit sleepy again.

Until I saw the next page...

"’No matter what, I have to quiet it down!’ I muttered to myself, breaking the glass with my hand and reaching out an arm to grab the incessant branch. But instead of a branch, my fingers clasped onto the icy-cold fingers of a small hand!"

Huh?

Jin Yunran was startled, the sleepiness previously felt now dissipated somewhat.

What’s happening?

She continued reading.

"As she spoke, I could barely make out the face of a child peering in through the window. Fear made me vicious, and when I couldn’t break free from that person’s grasp, I dragged her wrist across the broken glass, back and forth until blood flowed, soaking the sheets. She kept crying, ’Let me in!’ still holding me tight, nearly driving me insane.

’How could I let you in!’ I finally said, ’If you want me to let you in, release me!’"

Jin Yunran stood the book up and looked closely as she read on.

How did it turn into a horror novel?

"The fingers loosed, and I yanked my hand back through the window opening, hurriedly stacking books high to block the hole and covering my ears to shut out that heart-wrenching plea.

I had my ears covered for what must have been a quarter of an hour, yet suddenly, I heard it again, that sorrowful weeping carrying on!"

Jin Yunran subconsciously swallowed hard.

"Outside, there began a faint scratching noise, the stack of books moved as if being pushed from the front."

Would the ghost outside the window come in?

Mulling over this thought, Jin Yunran was about to continue reading when...

Suddenly, she heard a sound like scratching on the windowpane!

Jin Yunran felt her entire body go rigid,

swiftly lifting her head to look at the window in front of her.

In the quiet room, the sound she had just heard was very distinct.

So distinct that she couldn’t possibly have been mistaken.

What was that sound?

She immediately closed Wuthering Heights.

Observing the window in front of her, Jin Yunran stood up and opened the window.

Outside the window... there was naturally no anomaly.

There was no face appearing, as in the novel, nor any cries.

But that scratching sound was very clear.

Therefore, she studied the window’s pane carefully.

Finally, Jin Yunran saw there were in fact several shallow scratches on the glass of the window!

Looking at these scratches, Jin Yunran’s hands began to tremble.

Coincidence... It’s just a coincidence, right?

She quickly put Wuthering Heights back on the shelf, not daring to look at it again, and then, she closed the window.

...

As she went downstairs, lunch was nearly ready.

And Yun Lan noticed that Yun Ran’s expression was off, and asked, "What’s wrong? Yun Ran?"

"Sister... is Wuthering Heights a horror novel?"

Yun Lan was stunned, shook her head, and said, "No? Why do you ask?"

"I read the beginning, it was a little scary."

Then, Yun Lan thought for a moment and understood.

"Oh, are you talking about... the ghost of Catherine Earnshaw, the female protagonist?"

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